Five Divided
by Summerseve5375
Summary: Many years have passed since the Famous Five had their adventures. Julian works for the MoD, Dick is a reporter, Anne has recently divorced, and George doesn't want to be a boy anymore, she is now Gina and co-owns a gentlemens' club where she occasionally performs. Dick and Julian have fallen out over Dick sleeping with Julian's girlfriend and Gina hates Julian for good reason.
1. An Unwelcome Reunion

Chapter 1- An Unwelcome Reunion

"You were fantastic darling!" gushed Terry. I really should talk you in to performing every night."

Gina laughed and gave him a hug. "I don't think I'd be up to performing every night. I'm exhausted, I'm not in as good shape as I was."

"You think?" asked Terry, whilst his eyes did a quick top to toe scan of her toned body, which despite its athleticism had curves in all the right places.

"Stop that!" chided Gina, giving Terry a playful swipe.

"What?" he acted hurt. "Just because I don't want to buy the painting, doesn't mean that I can't appreciate its beauty."

"You do say the sweetest things." She said giving him another squeeze. As she did she noticed her personal assistant, showing a man in to her office. The man was glaring at her; he was a man who Gina knew very well. "Oh no, it can't be!"

"Darling, what's the matter?" asked Terry concerned by the colour having suddenly drained from her face.

"My cousin's here."

"Excellent!" exclaimed Terry. "I haven't seen Dick in ages.

"It's not Dick. It's one of my other cousins, Dick's brother actually. We don't get on," she explained. "I'd better go and see what he wants."

"Do you want me to come with you?" asked Terry.

"No' it's fine, I'll see you later.

As Gina walked down the corridor towards her office her mood changed. She wasn't a child anymore. Julian had no authority over her, this was her territory and she knew she looked amazing, still dressed in her costume of glittering sequins and skimpy lace. It was with the utmost confidence that she swept in to her office fully intending to give him as difficult a time as possible.

"Julian, I'd say what a pleasant surprise, but then we'd both know that I'm lying, wouldn't we?" she walked straight past him, sat in her office chair and stirred up at him with defiant eyes. She knew that sitting whilst he stood would usually put her at a disadvantage, but as she crossed one perfect leg over the other she knew that she was affording Julian the best possible view of her. Nothing would make him more uncomfortable than trying to avoid looking at her.

"What!" he exploded "was that? When your mother said you owned a club I had no idea that it was anything like this, does she? No she mustn't have known or she would never have told me where you worked. She would never have wanted me to see you parading yourself like a showgirl in next to no clothes, whilst men ogle you. How could you? I mean – you! George?" You hated being a girl all the while we were growing up and here you are. Let me tell you my girl, nobody in this club tonight had any doubts that you are a woman!"

"You saw me perform?" Gina asked surprised. Oh this just gets better, she thought. Julian was so angry, so out of control, so out of character that she couldn't help but laugh in pure delight at having provoked him.

"You find this funny?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"As a matter of fact I do," she replied, swinging slightly side to side on her chair. "And to answer your question, no mother doesn't know what kind of club this is. She assumes it's some kind of gentlemen's' club, which to a certain extent it is. Don't roll your eyes at me like that Julian. Surely you're a man of the world?" She was unable to keep the hint of a question from the statement and cursed herself inwardly at how interested she was, in if Julian was, in fact, a man of the world. She continued "I'd have thought that you would frequent clubs like mine from time to time."

Julian looked at her sourly at this. "No, as it happens I don't spend my time in places like this. I think you may be confusing me with Dick!"

Gina's eyes flashed dangerously. "Don't you dare say a word against Dick. I could never confuse the two of you. He was there for me, he treated me with respect, he didn't lie to me, he didn't…" Gina bit her lip. Even after all this time it choked her to think about it, to say his name, even in her mind. Once not so long ago she had tried to look and act like a boy which included keeping tears at bay, and some habits were hard to break. Besides she wouldn't give Julian the satisfaction of seeing her cry. "And it's Gina now, not George!" She said, regaining control of her temper.

ooooo

Julian on the other hand was anything but calm. He knew what she had been about to say, what she was thinking, and it was like a knife to his heart to know how much she hated him. He forced himself to calm down. She was his cousin, his George, his Gina now it would seem. Gina? He tried the name out in his mind and found that he rather liked it. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to be so angry, just it was a bit of a shock. When I saw you dancing up there I just couldn't believe that you of all people could go from hating being a girl to loving it, as you clearly do if your performance was anything to go by" He felt himself getting a little warm under the collar at his admission that he had been paying attention during her dance, and hoped she wouldn't notice.

If Julian had taken her regained calmness as some kind of conciliation on her part, he was very much mistaken.

"Why are you here?" she demanded.

"You mother asked me to come, she's been trying to contact you for two days."

ooooo

Damn, she cursed. She hadn't given her new address and telephone number to her mother yet, if she had, she could have spoken to her mother and avoided this unwelcome visit.

Until two weeks ago, Gina lived here, in the flat above the club. She had been so busy establishing the club with Terry that she had never got around to finding herself somewhere permanent until recently. She didn't want to say any of this to Julian though; she didn't want to have to tell him where she really lived.

I've had problems with the line," she said, not meeting his eyes. Even now, despite everything, it felt wrong lying to him. "Is Mother ok?" she asked.

"As a matter of fact she isn't. She isn't ill" he said hurriedly, seeing the panic on her face. "It's your father, he's gone missing."

Gina set her expression to one of indifference. "He's probably just wandered off with his test tubes and forgotten the time." she said.

"So did your mother… two weeks ago… Now she's worried and so am I. There have been things, signs, just little things really, that there may be some foul play. She needs you to go home, she wants us all there, Anne and Dick too She thinks that we may be able to work out what's happened."

"Don't you think we are a little old for adventures Julian? Let the police handle it. If he's really gone, well, Mother will be better off without him. He is almost as bad a husband as he is a father."

Julian's anger at her disrespect was such that it rendered him speechless for a few seconds. "Your father is a great man; he has done amazing service for our country."

"Yes well 'the country' never had to live with him did it?" Gina retorted. "Don't be so surprised Julian, he was involved, I hate him just as much as I hate you!"

ooooo

Her words flew through the air and landed on Julian like a slap. He had hoped that in the three years, since he had last seen her that she would have loosened a little. Who was he kidding? She would never let it go. He should just accept it.

"Your mother wants you home, tomorrow. Pack some things; I will be here in the morning at nine o'clock sharp." he snapped.

"Don't you dare order me around!" she exclaimed, jumping out of her chair and squaring up to him. "You have no idea what commitments I may have. You just think I'm going to swan off with you when you turn up out of the blue at my work."

"Listen, if you think I am relishing the idea of spending three hours in a car with you then you are mistaken. Aunt Fanny has been like a second mother to me since I was eleven years old, and _she_ wants us there. Regardless of your feelings for me or your fathe,r you owe it to your mother to be there for her."

"Of course, I'll be there for my mother, but I'll go home because I want to, not because you are telling me to go," growled Gina.

"Why must you be so difficult, I've come here to this… place…because your mother needs me to take you home. Can you please just accept my help and guidance in this, for her sake?"

Gina moved and stood very close to Julian. Her blue eyes bore into his brown.

"Your help and guidance? Well perhaps you can decide what I should pack, perhaps a few dresses like this one?" she twirled around gracefully giving him a 360 degree view. "As for guidance, well you never said whether you enjoyed my performance earlier."

"You were vey agile," he offered. "Enough! It's late. Be ready for nine. Don't keep me waiting." With that he turned and thundered out of her office.

ooooo

"Yes I suppose it is a bit late for you Julian, run home to your Ovaltine and slippers." Gina countered half to herself, but from the barely perceptible pause in his step she knew that Julian had heard her.


	2. When Julian Grew Up

Chapter 2 – When Julian Grew Up

Julian stormed through his front door, went straight over to his drinks cabinet and poured himself a very large scotch. Swallowing it in one he poured himself another before sinking down onto the sofa and burying his head in his hands. How could he have let that happen? How could he have let his control slip? Seeing her there like that. Seeing how she had danced, how she had twirled around in that costume that hid all but hinted at everything. He had been so angry when he had confronted her, but not just angry he had to admit to himself. He'd felt protective towards her, he'd wanted to cover her from the eyes of the other men in the room who had looked on and desired her. Just like he had looked and desired her.

"No, no, no!" he exclaimed out loud whilst beating his fist into the arm of the sofa. "I can't feel this way about her. Not now! I'm not ateenager anymore!" Downing the rest of his drink he leaned back, closed his eyes, and allowed himself to remember.

It was summer and the five of them were caravanning at Lake Merran**. **As was often the case they had found a perfect spot for bathing. Whilst the two girls, and he and Dick did change a short distance apart, privacy, at least amongst themselves, was never really a concern for them. He had already slipped his trunks on and he happened to glance over at the girls to see if they were ready too. Anne was, and was just tying a band into her hair, but George, who had to contend with Timmy jumping about in excitement, was a little slower. Julian found himself watching, as George slid her costume up her legs and over her buttocks. He noticed how different she looked now. As he saw her, almost naked, without the benefit of loose clothing to cover her figure, he realised that he didn't consider her boyish at all. Between her legs was a thatch of dark curly hair, her waist tapered slightly to give her an hourglass appearance that Julian had noticed women had. His eyes followed George's hands as they worked the costume, which was last summers, and a little tight, up over her hips. Julian noticed that George had breasts, small and pert. He wondered how they would feel in his hands; he wondered how the nipple would feel against his tongue. Heat rushed to his face and to his loins. His penis beneath his trunks became instantly hard and it throbbed madly as if it was trying to burst free. Julian rushed and dove into the water, hoping that none of the others had noticed.

They swam and splashed as normal but Julian took care to avoid contact with George whenever possible. This was not easy as George was an excellent swimmer and it was the norm that the two of them would try and get one over on the other. He did his best to act normally for the rest of that day.

"_She's my cousin" he kept telling himself "She wishes she was a boy, she would be horrified if she had known what I was thinking"_ Another voice which he struggled to control told him _"So what if she's my cousin, cousins can marry, she might say she wants to be a boy but the fact is she is a girl."_

His body's physical reaction to seeing her shocked him, especially the visible nature of it. He didn't think the others had noticed. He had been nervous that Dick might have, but he hadn't said anything. He and Dick did not associate with the type of boys who talked of such things in dark corners at school, but they both knew something about their penises and the role they played in reproduction, at least in the animal kingdom. They hadn't discussed it, since nice boys as Julian considered himself and Dick to be, did not talk about such things, and they certainly didn't touch other boys, or even their own unless it was necessary to use the toilet or to clean oneself in the bath.

Julian lay still in his bed that night and he waited until he could hear from the silence around him, that he was the only one still awake. He reached down and slid his hand into his pants and took hold of his penis firmly. It felt pleasant but nothing like it had done earlier. Julian sighed in relief it had just been an anomaly, a trick of the heat and the sun dancing on the water that had given him a funny turn, nothing to do with George at all. The moment he thought her name his member seemed to jerk and start to stiffen in his hand. He adjusted his hand to get a better grip on his treacherous organ, only to feel it begin to lengthen considerably. He could no longer fit it in his hand. Unable to control his thoughts now, he closed his eyes and saw her naked again. In his mind she stood quite still while his hungry gaze took in the sight of her. He moved towards her and took hold of her small breasts in his hands. He could almost feel their softness against the palms of his hands, and as he caressed the imaginary breast, he was barely conscious of his hand as it started to slowly pull back and forth along the length of his swollen manhood. It was all he could do not to gasp out loud at the pleasure of it, and as his hand worked up and down up and down, his imagination replaced his hand with George's, whilst his tongue lapped at her nipple. The imaginary George moaned, and the sound of Timmy stirring told him that _he_ had made the noise. He bit his lips together but was quite unable to stop what he was doing to his imaginary George. The sweet pressure built up and up inside him until he thought he would burst with it. He sank his teeth into the pillow as his movements reached their peak, and with an explosion of heat and a barely suppressed cry of pleasure his penis began to pump. Each pump deposited a measure of warm sticky fluid in his hand and against his pants.

When he woke the next morning, his semen had dried on his pants and hand, making the skin feel tight. He left the caravan before the others were awake, and washed the evidence of his shame away. As he dried the surface of his skin, he knew that the stain had gone deep inside him, to a place from which it could never be washed off…

Julian groaned as the memory subsided and he returned to his current situation. George, or Gina as she was now known, hated him for what she believed he had done. He knew now, just like he and Uncle Quentin had known back then, that if she knew the truth it would break her heart. He had to let her believe the lie that had broken his own. She was his cousin and he loved her, but he also had to admit, if just to himself, that it had always been more. From the moment, during their first summer together, when he had slipped his arm through hers, and asked her how Kirrin Island belonged to her, she had made him a whole person and not just dependable old Julian. He loved her and she hatred him, which he could not really blame her for, since she believed, and he had done nothing to make her think otherwise, that he had killed Timmy.


	3. To Kirrin

Chapter 3 – To Kirrin

Julian pulled up next by the club's stage entrance. It looked different in the light of day, different and quite deserted. He checked his watch, it was five minutes to nine so he sat and waited. He had said nine o'clock on the dot, so he would have to abide by his own edict. He had told Gina that he didn't want to spend three hours in a car with her, but as he sat watching the stage door, waiting for it to open, he realised this wasn't true. Even just being in her company, knowing she hated him, was preferable to the gulf that not seeing her in three years had created. Preferable but not easier, I'm a fool, he told himself.

It was nine o'clock now and Julian began to feel the beginnings of irritation. He could not abide lateness. He sighed, how long should he wait until he knocked on that door? It occurred to him that Gina may have a large trunk that she would struggle to carry down the stairs. Always a gentleman, Julian got out of the car and rang the door bell. He heard the ring echoing thorough empty corridors.

He left his finger on the bell until finally he heard a sound of life from within. Prepared for Gina's annoyance at his incessant ringing, he was shocked at the door being opened by a man.

'This had better be worth it,' the man stated whilst running an appraising eye over Julian.

Julian recognised him as the man that had held Gina in his arms the previous evening. Anger flared through him. Whilst he could have taken the hug as platonic last night, that fact that the man was here, where she lived, at this time of the morning, wearing only a dressing gown would suggest otherwise.

'I'm here to collect George, Gina,' he corrected himself. 'Tell her I'll be in the car.'

ooooo

'Wait!' Terry called. 'Its Julian isn't it? Gina's cousin? She said you would be calling.' Terry found himself comparing Julian to Dick and Gina. When he had met Dick, he had been struck by his physical similarity to Gina; they could have been bother and sister. Julian was totally different in looks from both of them. He was taller, with a more muscular physique than Dick. He was fair where they were dark, and there was a coolness about him that was in opposition to Dick's warm open manner, although he saw that same remoteness in Gina too sometimes. He could understand now why Gina had been apprehensive at seeing him. Julian had a power about him; he was a man that Terry would not want to cross.

Julian turned back to face Terry. His face set hard.

'Are you engaged?' he snapped, forcing the words out through gritted teeth.

'Engaged? Me? To Gina?' Terry was so taken by surprise by the question that a gurgle of laughter burst from his lips. 'God no.'

'So you live with my cousin and have no intention of marrying her, what kind of man are you?' Julian looked livid.

'It's not like that, she and I, well, I don't. I mean…' Terry gave up. The doorstep of the club, wearing his dressing gown was hardly an appropriate place for that kind of conversation. 'Look she asked me to let you know that she had gone to Kirrin on the first train. Said that she was worried about her mother, and she didn't want to delay by waiting for you.' The last bit was a lie. Gina had been gloating about standing Julian up, but as Terry stood wilting under his gaze he felt the need to mitigate her action. Here was a man that he did not want as an enemy, either for himself or for Gina.

Julian stalked back to his car leaving Terry to breathe a sigh of relief and worrying that Gina may be in for a difficult reunion with her cousin.

ooooo

As Julian started the car and began the long journey to Kirrin, he felt relief. The idea of Gina having any surname other than Kirrin had made him feel sick. He had fought so long to hide his feelings for her, even going so far as to convince Uncle Quentin that she should be a debutant with Anne. Of course he felt better knowing that Anne did not have to negotiate the social circuit alone, but it was only knowing how much George, as was, would loath it, that he had been able to contemplate her having a season. When one of his best friends had actually shown an interest in his cousin, he had convinced Jeremy that Anne was a much better match for him.

He was angry at Gina for leaving without him, but he could hardly condemn her for being concerned for her mother and wanting to be there for her.

He glanced at his watch. They had taken the early train to Kirrin many times during their teenage years. She would not be far from home now. He sighed and tried to relax for his long drive back to the place that he regarded as home.

ooooo

Gina was less than half an hour away from Kirrin Station when her watch showed her that it was 9 o'clock. The train was the same one that the five of them had travelled on many times. When she had boarded she had briefly wondered at whether to avoid sitting in their carriage, it being empty. Feeling a compulsion that had taken her by surprise she had sat where he would sit, facing backwards, nearest the door. The adult position when travelling with children she now realised. Her place had been by the window, facing forward, diagonally opposite him. The place that the youngest child would beg to sit, she now realised with embarrassment.

'No wonder, you treated me like a child,' she said to their ghosts sat in the carriage with her. 'You must have laughed at my pathetic attempts to be like you!'

She felt a little guilty about leaving Terry to deal with Julian. Darling Terry. What would she have done without him?

She had arrived in London damaged. She had money, enough to be comfortable. It didn't matter. Thanks to her season and boarding school, she even knew a few people in town. That didn't matter either. She had felt like her heart had been ripped out. Timmy's death had devastated her, but not nearly as much as Julian's involvement in it.

Her and Anne had returned from a particular boring weekend party at Jeremy Thacker's country estate. Anne had mithered about Jeremy all the way home, and she had been none committal. Jeremy may have the looks and the money but George had seen the way that his dogs avoided him. If dogs don't like somebody, then in George's mind they were not worth liking. Besides anyone with half a brain could see how Guy Lawler felt about Anne. Dogs liked Guy and so did Gina.

They had pulled into Kirrin Station and seen Dick on the platform waiting for them. Anne had waved madly, delighted to see him. George had secretly been disappointed that Julian had not been with him. She had, she now realised with self loathing, always craved his company. With barely an acknowledgement of Anne, Dick had drawn her aside. Looking into his eyes, so like her own, she had known something was wrong before he had spoken the words.

'Timmy's dead!' the words reverberated in her head like an echo in a cave. Unlike an echo it got louder and louder until it was a scream.

She had fainted. For the first and last time in her life she had fainted like the girl she was. When she came to, she was in the station master's office, Dick and Anne looking down on her with concern.

'How?' she demanded.

'Not really sure, Ju's being tight lipped about it. There was an accident he says, and the vet said there was no chance of recovery. I told him that he should have called you first, but Julian said it would have been pointless spoiling your weekend. That you'd never have got back in time anyway. He had discussed it with your father but I only found all this out after Timmy had already been put to sleep. Julian was with him at the end though George. Timmy wasn't alone.'

'Spoil my weekend; he didn't want to spoil my weekend? Julian had my dog killed without even bothering to call me?' Gina demanded, her eyes blazing.

'Well yes, technically,' Dick looked very uncomfortable. 'I did tell him that he should have called you but you know Julian. He always thinks he knows what's best.'

'How dare you!' and she swung a fierce right hook that caught Julian under the jaw and flung his head back. She had wished he would fight back as she knew he would against another boy, but against her he stood and he took it. Blow after blow she rained down on him until her boyish thumps became girlish slaps that accompanied wracking sobs. He tried to gather her in his arms but she punched him in the gut and ran from him. She stuffed a few clothes in to a bag and left on the very next train for London.

Upon arrival she had wandered aimlessly. Where she would live did not enter her head. She had tried to mourn Timmy, but all she could think about was Julian. His total contempt by taking the biggest decision of her life away from her was obvious. The decision was morally hers alone to make, Timmy was her dog. His attempt to comfort her, as if she were a child to be hugged and soothed made her grit her teeth. Especially since there was part of her that had wanted to press herself against him and believe that it would all be ok. How could she betray Timmy so readily? She hated herself almost as much as she hated him!

With this self loathing she walked passed a club. For all her boyish whims whilst growing up, she was a good dancer. The though of being used seemed compatible with her state of mind and she pushed open the door. The club was small but surprisingly tasteful in its décor. At one of the tables by the stage sat a well dressed man who was pouring somewhat uncomfortably over some paperwork. He looked up surprised and relieved by the interruption, as he heard someone enter.

'Can I help you?' he asked.

'I need a job,' she stated, 'dancing'

He raised an eyebrow. Ok she didn't look like a typical erotic dancer with her hair, that whilst longer than it had been during her adventuring years, was still struggling to brush her shoulders.

'Ok, show me what you can do,' the man had said, setting down his pen. He got up, placed a record on the turntable and watched her with only mildly curious eyes that held little expectation.

Because she felt neither dead nor alive at that point, she had danced with no inhibitions. She had felt intoxicated almost, and more on instinct than any idea of what would be expected of her in such a club, she began to remove her clothes whilst dancing in time to the music.

The man had been surprised and watched transfixed until she had reached her underwear.

'Ok stop!' he shouted, scratching the needle across the record. 'Come by tonight, about half past eight. We'll fit you with some costumes and see how you go. Oh and we don't do full nudity here. The underwear is skimpy but it stays on, understand? This is a club not a brothel, if that's a problem for you then don't come.'

'No that's fine, I mean I'm not… Thanks,' she muttered embarrassed that he would even think that.

Hearing the breading in her voice and seeing it in her bearing he had softened.

'What's your name sweetheart?'

She hesitated, George was dead, and she could feel her lying cold side by side with Timmy, both of them murdered by the traitorous Julian. She had never felt like Georgina.

'Gina,' she heard herself say. 'Gina Kirrin.'

'I'm Terry, I own The Paragon.'

She had surprised herself by being a popular erotic dancer, but Terry who hated paperwork soon realised that she had a shrewd business head. By the time she turned twenty-one, her dancing had taken a back seat to her co-managing The Paragon. When the solicitor had tracked her down with the papers to release her sizable trust fund she had talked Terry in to forming a partnership and realising his dream of opening a gentlemen's club in a more fashionable part of town.

Three years later, she was an independent businesswoman. She saw her mother away from the club whenever she came to town. She regularly saw Dick who was now a reporter, and Anne too who, had married and very recently divorced the increasingly vile Jeremy, but never him. Never Julian. Not until last night.


	4. Home Sweet Home

Chapter 4 – Home Sweet Home

There was nobody there to meet her at the station. Gina had not telephoned her mother to let her know that she was travelling down by train, so she would be expecting Gina to arrive with Julian at around noon. Mindful of this, she had travelled with only the necessities. Still, her case was too big to carry all the way home from the station, and after being sat in a carriage for the last couple of hours, the last thing she wanted to do was sit in a taxi. It was a beautiful spring day so she decided to walk the short distance to Kirrin Cottage.

Having checked her case in to Left Luggage to collect later, Gina stepped outside and immediately had to fight the urge to turn around and catch the very same train back to London. To run away from the memories that broke free from the restraints that she had carefully built around them. No! Gina told herself sternly, I am not a child. She had always known that she would have to come home someday. It was only a matter of when.

'I still think of it as home.' She said aloud her voice shaky with emotion. The smell of the sea saturated the air, and as Gina listened she could hear the sound of waves sloshing on the shingle. The tide is in, she realised. She felt an instant familiarity with her surroundings. It was as if Kirrin recognised her as its own and reclaimed her without hesitation. She felt her mood begin to brighten. She had always loved listening to the sea, the sun on her face, Timmy lying besides her. Timmy. Memories of him and of Julian had been those she had tried the hardest to bury.

She was thankful that she had stood Julian up. Gina had thought that her aversion to spending three hours in close proximity to him was her reason for giving him the slip. She now realised that subconsciously she had known that she needed to be alone during these first moments back at Kirrin. She would not want anyone, especially him to see her so vulnerable.

As she rounded the corner she got her first look at the harbour and the sea. Her steps faltered. Some of the boats were different but it had barely changed from how she remembered it. A few more steps on heavy feet, Gina wanted to see and yet she was afraid to. One, two, three, and there it was, her island, Kirrin Island. She could not stop her eyes from filling up. Taking a deep breath, she continued the final few hundred yards to Kirrin Cottage.

Her eyes were drawn first to the tree stump in the front garden. The ash had fallen on the house during the Easter gale, and her father had packed them all off to Smuggler's Top. This is how it will be, she thought. Everything I see will remind me of our adventures and happy times. Every memory he'll be there like a cancer infecting it. If only I could remember being happy without him. She wiped her tears on the back of her hand. As she walked up the path she noticed that the ash stump looked different. Bending to examine it, she noticed that it had been carved. It was... she gasped, Timmy. Somebody had intricately carved what was unmistakably Timmy's face in to the side of the remaining trunk, it was beautiful. Anne had done some sculpture at school but Gina had not really paid much attention to her cousin's hobby. She hadn't realised that Anne was so good.

Gina pushed at the front door and found it unlocked. Typical, she thought. Mother suspects foul play over father's disappearance, but it still doesn't occur to her to lock the front door. Living in London had knocked the country ways out of Gina and she found the idea of spending her days and nights in an unsecure property rather frightening.

'Hello!' she called. She heard the sound of the floor board in the morning room creak. Somebody was at home then. The morning room door opened to reveal a very pretty blond young woman. 'Anne!' she exclaimed, flinging herself at her cousin. 'It's so good to see you. How did you get here so quickly? How are you? You look so much better'.

As Gina hugged Anne she felt so relieved. When she had last seen Anne she had been so thin and frail. Her fair skin had always reminded Gina of cream. In the aftermath of Jeremy, her colour had resembled the faded grey of aged whites. Thankfully her colour seemed to be almost back to normal and whilst she still needed to gain a few pounds, at least she no longer looked like a skeleton.

Anne laughed. 'One thing at a time, it's great to see you too. I've been here for a few weeks actually, taking in the sea air, getting my strength back. I'm trying to figure out what I am going to do with the rest of my life while Aunt Fanny fattens me up.'

'Well she's doing a great job.' Gina bit her lip not sure whether she should mention it. 'You can do anything you like, go anywhere. There's the money from the settlement I have it in an account waiting for you.'

'No! I don't want anything of his. Whatever I do I won't be beholden to him for it.' Anne's face had taken on a determined edge. It wasn't a look that it got very often but when it did Gina knew that she would get nowhere labouring the point, so she changed the subject.

'So what's been going on here? What trouble has my father got himself into?'

'Well it would help if we knew what he'd been working on and for whom. You know what he's like. Even when I asked him what he was working on or how it was going he was vague. He mentioned something about using water as a power source, but that's about as much as I know. It all seemed a bit far fetched and as you know I am not the most scientifically minded person.'

Gina laughed 'me neither, gosh do you remember how disappointed Madam Gower was when she started at Gaylands. She was a big fan of father's work and expected us to be his science protégés or something.'

Anne giggled at the memory 'it was worse for you, she gave up on me after I set fire to her jumper. It took her two terms to realise that you had no interest in looking at her scientific theories over afternoon tea.'

'Well actually that part wasn't so bad. I had some jolly nice cakes in her parlour. I only put a stop to it when summer arrived. I didn't want to spend a free sunny afternoon cooped up with her when I could be outside with you and Timmy, no matter how jammy her scones were.'

They wandered back in to the morning room and Anne poured them both a cup of tea. They sat in the window seat both quiet for a moment before Anne resumed.

'Uncle Quentin went out for the day. He told your mother and I that he was collecting water samples. That he was going to the beach and then to Kirrin Farm to collect some from the spring there. He didn't come home that night. Aunt Fanny wasn't worried though. The weather had turned over the course of the day and she thought that he would have stayed over at the farm. We didn't worry the next day either because if he had stayed over, it made sense that he would have carried on where he had left off. It was only that night that we started to worry.'

'Did you call the police,' Gina asked, sipping her tea thoughtfully.

'Yes, they were not very helpful at first. They seemed to think that Uncle Quentin may have left your mother.'

Gina snorted in disbelief 'They obviously didn't know father very well. As if he could be bothered with a mistress. His work was everything and mother took excellent care of him. I think they only had me to give mother something to do whilst father was working.'

'I'm sure that's not true, your father loves you and your mother very much. He's just a bit preoccupied.'

'Yeh, anyway carry on with the story.' Gina pressed.

'Aunt Fanny called Julian. She though that because Uncle Quentin had worked on some projects of national security that the MoD would be able to help.'

'Did he, I mean they.'

'They are limited as to what they can do because Uncle Quentin is a civilian and isn't working on anything security related at the moment. Julian called in a few favours though and they are keeping their eyes open for anything that may be linked.'

'So does nobody have any idea of what has happened to my father?' asked Gina. Anne looked down at her empty cup and twisted it around her saucer nervously.

'I do.' She said quietly.

'And.' Gina prompted.

'He's been kidnapped.'

'Are you sure?' Gina asked.

'Yes,' replied Anne. 'They've contacted me, well I took the call and I think they assumed that I was Aunt Fanny. They say that they will be in touch with their demands.'

'Have you told the police,' Gina asked.

'No the kidnappers said not to. They say that if we report it to the police, that they will take him abroad and force him to work for enemies of Britain. Also that they will provide proof to the authorities that Uncle Quentin is a traitor to his country! The whole family will be disgraced.'

'I see,' said Gina. 'Does Julian,' she said his name through gritted teeth, 'know about this.'

Anne shuck her head. 'Not yet, Aunt Fanny hinted at something but we didn't want to tell him over the phone. We need to make him understand that he mustn't report it to the MoD.'

'Hmmm. I can see it's a problem but why has mother decided to gather us all here? What does it achieve?'

Anne looked a bit sheepish. 'Well actually that was my idea. I thought, well, we did used to be pretty good at this kind of thing.'

'Darling Anne, have you completely lost your mind? The last time Julian saw Dick he threatened to kill him, and as for Julian and I… well lets just say that by the end of today you could be missing both brothers.' Gina stood up and placing her cup on the table began to pace. 'You seriously think that we can put everything to one side and have some kind of adventure? Oh Anne we aren't children anymore. Even if I wanted to I have obligations back in London. I can not spend days, hours my god even minutes with Julian!'

'Gina, I'm so sorry. I just wanted everything to be back like it used to be before everything went so wrong. I thought if we could all get together and find your father that everything would be alright. Julian had been calling me every few days before I left London, trying to arrange to meet up. I've kept putting him off, I just couldn't face seeing him after the… Jeremy was his friend' Anne trailed off.

'You haven't told Julian?' Anne shuck her head, 'Dick?' another shake.

'I thought it would be easier to tell them together, with you too, since there may be parts that I can't explain very well.' Anne mumbled.

Gina hugged Anne tight. 'No I'm sorry. I shouldn't be so selfish. Of course I'll be there with you.'

'You've done so much for me already. I shouldn't ask this.'

'Of course you should, and I'd do it all again,' and more besides she thought to herself. Her one regret was not actually killing the bastard. 'Don't worry any more about it. Let me go and freshen up then we can catch up. I smell of train.' Gina wrinkled her nose in disdain.

'Oh, I didn't ask how you got here so early. I thought that Julian was picking you up.'

'Yes so did he,' Gina said with a smirk.

'Gina, he'll be furious,' Anne fretted.

'I don't care what he is. He has no right barging in to my life and making demands. I don't care how angry he is.' With that Gina swept up the stairs, leaving Anne fiddling nervously with her hair.

ooooo

Gina had to admit to herself that she was a little apprehensive about Julian's impending arrival. She had telephoned Terry to let him know that she had arrived safely and he had told her about his run in with her cousin.

'Darling, just what is it with you two? If you hadn't told me he was your cousin I would have thought he was an angry jealous boyfriend.'

Gina had laughed uneasily. 'Julian's is just a busybody who thinks he has the right to interfere in the lives of those around him. Don't worry about him.'

'I don't, but I do worry about you. Don't do anything rash. Don't get in to any trouble' Terry had rung off after assuring her that all was fine at The Paragon.

Trouble, Gina thought. I've no intention of getting into any trouble but if the opportunity presents itself I'll make damn sure that Julian gets his fair share.


	5. The Common Denominator

Chapter 5 - The Common Denominator

Gina spent a pleasant morning with Anne. Her mother had been out shopping when she'd arrived and upon her return was delighted to find her daughter at home. She ushered both women in to the kitchen to help her prepare lunch.

'Are you ok sleeping in your old room with Anne? I was going to put Julian in the guest room and Dick in their old room. I don't know if they have been reconciled since that business with Annabella.'

'That would be a no mother. I saw Dick recently and he hasn't seen Julian in ages.'

'You know I love Dick dearly but I don't know what he was thinking, taking up with her,' her mother chided

'There was more to it than that mother. It would probably be best not to mention it.'

Her mother sighed and paused in her pea shelling. 'I'm sure you're right dear. What _are_ you doing to that pie crust? I see your baking skills haven't improved since you left home. Oh Anne yours looks lovely.' Wiping her hands on her apron she shooed Gina away from the gnarled pie. 'Here,' she said with a laugh thrusting a pile of bedding into Gina's arms. 'Go and make the beds up in the boys' rooms.'

Gina grinned, and grateful to be relieved of kitchen duties, she headed off upstairs.

Ooooo

She started with the room that Dick had shared with Julian as a boy. Unlike her own room that she shared with Anne, this room was different to how she remembered it. The two twin beds had been replaced with a double and the walls had been given a fresh coat of paint. Mother had explained that she provided accommodation for tourists during the summer season. Now that she didn't have the children to look after, she had found that she had a lot of free time on her hands. At a time in their lives when other couples their age would be enjoying this new freedom, her father remained as preoccupied with his work and selfish to her mother's needs as ever. Bristling with indignation on her behalf, Gina pumped pillows and tucked sheets until Dick's bed was perfectly made.

The spare room, as her mother called it, was not in the same part of the house as what had been the children's rooms. Consequently it was not a room that Gina had ventured in to very often. It looked similar furniture wise to how she remembered it, but this room too had been freshened up. The walls were lighter in colour and the curtains were light and airy. Very different to when Mr Roland their tutor had stayed here, she thought.

As she moved around the bed tucking in the corners of the sheets, she became uncomfortable at making up the bed that he would sleep in. 'Pity I don't have any itching powder to put in _his_ bed,' she said out loud with a smirk.

'A fact that I am very grateful for,' came a voice from the door.'

Gina gasped and spun round to find herself face to face with her nemesis. His face was unreadable and she felt the adrenaline flood her body, ready for their inevitable confrontation.

'I was just making your bed,' she stammered, cursing herself at how limp a response it was. 'I'm done; I'll leave you to it. With that she summoned all her dignity and walked towards him with the expectation that he would step aside and let her through the door. Julian didn't move.

'Thank you for the bed, minus the itching powder,' with that his face broke in to a grin. Despite not wanting to, Gina could not help her own grin from forming.

'You're welcome.'

Julian's hand shot out and grabbed hers, 'of course it doesn't make up for standing me up. I felt a right idiot being told by a man in a dressing gown no less that you'd left without me.'

With her hand in his and his deep eyes boring in to her, Gina felt her brain give up on any chance that she had of lying to him. 'I haven't been home since… you know. I needed to be alone, to do things at my own pace.'

Julian's face softened, 'why didn't you explain this to me. I thought you were just being difficult. I wouldn't have pushed if you'd have told me that.'

Gina felt her hackles rise at this. 'Really? You didn't exactly come across as Mr Reasonable you know. Barging in, criticising me and making demands!' To her surprise Julian didn't deny it.

'I know, I'm sorry. I was tired, very shocked by what I'd seen, but let's not go in to that now,' he added quickly seeing her face darken. 'I reacted badly and I didn't realise that you might need to do this by yourself, I should have. Forgive me?'

Yes, yes, yes. I forgive you, I forgive you for everything, the part of her mind that was processing the sensation of having her hand in his, shouted at her, much to her horror. How could she think that after what he'd done? This is why I have avoided him all these years, she realised. Being with him makes my head spin. I need to hate him, I owe it to Timmy!

Julian raised their joined hands and entwined his fingers around hers. The sharp intake of breath that she had successfully swallowed when he had first taken hold of her hand could no longer be suppressed. Her heart began to race and desperate though she was to rip her eyes from his she could not.

'You feel it too don't you?' We belong together you, Dick, Anne and I. There has been a part of me missing since the four of us drifted apart.'

His words, if anything were a relief. Julian was obviously talking about some childhood bond that he believed they all shared. Trying to regain some control over her emotions and remember who it was she stood holding hands with she retorted,

'Five. You mean the five of us, or have you forgotten about Timmy?'

'I haven't forgotten,' Julian raised her hand and placed it over his heart. 'Timmy lives on, he's part of us all.'

What am I doing? The question flashed in Gina's mind. She didn't have an answer for herself. Julian's hand held hers only lightly, she could have pulled it away from the firm pectoral it was pressed against, at any point. Instead she stood there, feeling his racing heart matching her own. Not for the same reason though she thought and felt her face flush with embarrassment.

'Julian! Gina! Lunch is ready.' Her mother's voice cut through the paralysed state that her logic seemed to have become stuck in, and she now snatched her hand away.

'And you know what the common denominator is Julian? You! You are the one who nobody wants in their lives. I see Dick and Anne all the time. When did you last see any of us?' she demanded.

'Now hold on a minute,' Julian huffed. 'I will accept that where you and I are concerned I have a case to answer, but how is coming home and finding my brother in bed with my fiancée my fault? As for Anne, I haven't seen her in a while but that wasn't through lack of trying on my part. I didn't want to just call on her out of the blue, she's not long married for goodness sake. You can't just descend on your married sister unannounced, even if she is married to a good friend.'

Relieved to be able to ignore his challenge about Dick and Annabella, she struck. 'Oh yes your good friend Jeremy. Tell me Julian, did you know what his nickname was when you married Anne off to him? Well did you? Jeremy "Wacker" Thacker!'

'What?' he asked confused for a moment. Gina saw the instant that he understood what she was saying. 'He hit her?' the question was muted, as if he was afraid to speak the words. Any triumph that Gina may have felt at felling him was absent; because this was Anne they were talking about. Her beautiful, gentle cousin, his sister who they both loved.

Gina nodded, 'it was awful. He didn't just slap her. Oh Julian the bruises. I'll never forget the bruises. That wasn't all he did either. He…' They heard a gasp at the door and both turned. Anne stood there, her eyes wide with shock.

'Aunt Fanny sent me to fetch you,' she stuttered.

'Anne,' Julian said reaching out to her.

'No! Don't touch me. I'm sorry,' she sobbed and fled the doorway.

Julian turned to Gina. 'What does she mean, she's sorry?'

'She's convinced that once you found out the truth, you'd be disappointed with her. Well…' Gina inclined her head and gave him a hard shove. 'Go after her you idiot.'

As he took off after his sister, Gina knew that she needed his unconditional love and acceptance before she could start healing. She hoped for Anne's sake that he would listen to the little that she would be comfortable telling him, without saying anything that made it more painful than it already was for her cousin.


	6. All Those Secrets

Chapter 6 – All Those Secrets

He found Anne in the garden. She sat on the swing, her fair face a picture of misery.

'Why didn't you tell me the first time he hurt you?' he asked her gently, 'you must know that I would never have let it happen again.'

'I'm sorry. I wanted to manage to do something myself without running to my big brother,' she held her face in her hands. 'Oh Julian I tried so hard to be a good wife. I though that if I could just be better, then Jeremy would love me, after all he was your friend. You were so approving of my marrying him.'

'Sweetheart, I had no idea that Jeremy was so despicable. You do know that don't you? Had I known, I would never have let him anywhere near you, or any other woman for that matter,' Julian told her. 'I feel terrible for my part in it. Anne I am so sorry. I don't want to ask you to tell me anything that makes you uncomfortable but I am here for you. Anything you want to talk about, there is nothing that you can tell me, nothing that he did to you could make me love you any less.'

Gina, he recalled had been about to elaborate on something before Anne had overheard them. He made a mental note to ask her later.

'Oh Julian!' Anne cried and flew in to his arms.

He held her close while she sobbed in to his shirt. As he comforted his sister his thoughts turned to Jeremy. He would make him pay for what he had done. As Anne's sobs subsided she lifted her face from his chest and Julian was surprised to see that she was smiling.

'I knew that everything would be better once we were all back together,' she said.

He didn't want to hurt her but he couldn't let her have any false hope that they were all going to become friends again. Gina hated _him_ because of Timmy and he hated? No hate was the wrong word. Dick had betrayed him when he took Annabella in to his bed, how could he ever trust him again? Seeing the hope in Anne's eyes, he kissed her forehead,

'Let's just take it one day at a time shall we? Shall we go back inside? Aunt Fanny has gone to a lot of trouble over lunch; it would be a shame if it was spoilt. You can fill me in on the details of Uncle Quentin's disappearance while we eat.'

Linking her arm through his, they headed back in to the cottage.

Ooooo

Aunt Fanny and Anne gave him the details of Uncle Quentin's abduction. He sat solemnly and listened. Gina was quiet but he supposed she had heard the story and had already asked any questions that had occurred to her.

'You were right to keep quiet about this. Until we know who may have taken Uncle Quentin and what they want for his safe return we have to tread carefully. Once we know that we can gauge whether it is work he has completed that they are interested in, or whether they need to ensure he continues with a particular project.'

Anne and his aunt looked relieved by his words. Gina looked far from impressed.

'What exactly does that mean Julian? Do we just sit about and wait for them to start sending bits of my father to mother in the post? I can think of a few parts of him that wouldn't be a loss to "science" or anyone else for that matter!'

'Georgina Kirrin how dare you speak about your father that way!' her mother exclaimed. 'You may have your issues with him but don't ever presume that you understand _our_ relationship or how he and I feel about each other!'

'Mother I'm sorry; I didn't mean to upset you.' Gina felt terrible adding to her mother's worries. 'I just can't stand sitting around here while we wait for the kidnappers to get in touch. Of course I am upset about father, if only for your sake.'

'Oh Gina, I do wish you could find room in your heart for forgiveness. Your father loves you very much; he just didn't always know how to show it. You are more like him than you care to admit, stubborn and proud. Your father only ever wanted what was best for you, as did J…'

'Hello!' interrupted a voice from the door. 'Have I come at a bad time?'

'Dick!' Gina and Anne called in unison, Gina with obvious relief at the distraction. Julian too was pleased that Aunt Fanny had not had chance to finish her sentence. Gina, he knew, would have found the "Julian knows best" speech patronising.

Gina rushed over to Dick and flung herself in to his arms. It was as unlike their own meeting as he could imagine. He felt his stomach twist in envy, even more when he recalled her words from earlier – "I see Dick all the time." To all appearances it was an affectionate hug between cousins, but then he'd never sensed anything between his brother and Annabella either. I have to stop this, he thought. I can't keep thinking that she is involved with every man that we see. Besides what if she were? It is nothing to do with me. Even had they not been estranged, Gina was a grown woman and who she associated with was none of his business. Perhaps if he had not tried to fix Anne's life she would not have married a wife beater.

As the eldest, he had always been the one in control. He managed their time, their budget, even which temporary associates during their adventures were respected, and those who were merely tolerated. Dick and Anne had made friends easily. Their open natures made them approachable and quick to include others. Gina and he were more guarded, although her criteria for liking people centred on whether they liked Timmy, and whether they mistook her for a boy. Looking at her now, it seemed hard to imagine that there was ever a time when she had a body that could be described any other way than totally feminine.

Dick looked over in his direction. The grin he was wearing for Gina froze and he nodded.

'Julian.'

Julian inclined his head, 'Dick,' he replied cordially.

By now Aunt Fanny and Anne had joined in the hugging.

'I say Aunt Fanny, I'm starving, any chance of some of that wonderful looking lunch?'

They sat back down and the story was repeated once more for Dick's benefit. Julian was struck by the similarity to some of their childhood adventures. Dick had been a rock, always supportive, always watching his back. It was all too much to take.

'Please excuse me,' he said. 'I need to unpack; I'll leave you to catch up.'

Ooooo

After unpacking, Julian lay on the bed. He could hear the muffled voices from downstairs. He heard an exclamation from Dick and assumed that Anne was telling him about Jeremy. What am I doing here? He thought. They are all going to expect me to have all the answers and I haven't a clue how to find Uncle Quentin. When we were children, everything seemed to fall in to place. We always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. We never actually set out to have adventures or solve crime, it just happened that way. Dick's a reporter, perhaps he has some formal investigative skills that may be of use, perhaps he knows where we can start.

Even if they were able to discover anything that could help find Uncle Quentin, could the four of them really work together? Nobody had a problem with Anne but he had issue with Dick and Gina. Gina. It always came back to her. When he had found her in his bedroom giving voice to her desire to make him itch he had only been upset until he had seen her mortification. He had soon found himself grinning like a schoolboy and had been very surprised that she had relaxed and acknowledged the humour of the situation. Exactly how he had ended up holding her hand against his chest, he could not fathom. That she had allowed it had shocked him. That he had almost let slip that he had feelings for her had shaken him even more. Luckily he had managed to cover it with the childhood camaraderie line. He wanted more than anything to be reconciled with her but how could he do that without telling her the full story about Timmy? How could he ever explain how much he cared about her without giving away _exactly_ how much her cared about her? He sighed; perhaps it was better to just let her carry on hating him.

He heard the front door bang and he rose from the bed and crossed over to the window. Dick was holding the passenger door of his car open for Gina with a flourishing bow. They were both laughing as she gave him a playful swipe. Their relationship looked warm and uncomplicated, how he envied them each other.

He headed downstairs to find Aunt Fanny in the kitchen cleaning away the lunch dishes. Taking the t-towel from her he insisted she sit at the kitchen table and rest while he finished off. Feigning ignorance he asked.

'Where is everyone?'

'Anne's resting. She was very poorly when she first arrived and got tired easily. I persuaded her that she should have a lie down for a couple of hours in the afternoons. Dick has given Gina a lift to the station to pick up her bags from Left Luggage.

Oh Julian I do hope that you and Gina can reconcile your differences, you and Dick too. When I think back to how inseparable the four of you were, I could just cry at how everything has turned out,' his aunt rung her hands in frustration.

'I know Aunt Fanny, and as Gina points out, I am the common denominator for all the problems. It's up to me then to try and make everything right.'

'She said that?' asked his aunt. 'That was unfair of her. She loves you very much you know Julian. Every time I visited her in London, I would tell her everyone's news including yours. She never said she wasn't interested, in fact,' she gave a little laugh, 'if I didn't know any better I would have said that she seemed quite put out when I told her that you had got engaged. Especially when I told her who it was to.'

Hope at her insistence that Gina still loved him, was temporarily overshadowed by surprise. 'I didn't realise she knew Annabella.' He had finished the last of the dishes, and now took a seat by his aunt.

'Oh yes, they were very good friends for a while. She even stayed here a couple of times during school holidays that you didn't spend together.'

Julian didn't know why this news should bother him, but it did. Not that Gina had failed to mention Annabelle. After all, why would she tell her cousins about a random girl who she happened to be friends with? Annabella on the other hand would have surely known that Gina was his cousin. They shared an unusual surname, besides; he had told Annabella the names of his family. He said as much to his aunt.

'Oh well they were only friends for a short time,' Aunt Fanny laughed, 'you know Gina and her temper. I asked her whether she wanted to invite her over and she told me that they had had a fight and were no longer friends.' She patted his arm comfortingly. 'Did you love her very much?'

Julian shrugged, not really wanting to explain the extent of his feelings for Annabella to her. 'Not enough it seemed,' he offered.

'I know that you probably don't realise this now Julian but some people are just meant to be together. Annabella wasn't the one for you. Perhaps she and Dick were so much in love that they lost all sense of propriety

Julian snorted, 'Oh Aunt, if that were the case of course I would have forgiven Dick instantly. Do you think they are still together? They aren't. Dick had no interest in a relationship with her. I would have done anything for Dick and had they been in love I would have stepped aside and given them my blessing. I don't think that they even saw each other again after I caught them together. What kind of man does that to his brother? Sleeps with his fiancée for no reason other than to break them up?'

'I don't have the answer for you Julian. I just know Dick. I can't believe that he would set out to steal your fiancée just to score some kind of victory over you.'

'Well if you're right Aunt Fanny, he has never seen fit to enlighten me as to his real reason,' he stated bitterly.

'Have you asked him?' Julian shuck his head. 'Perhaps you should. After all the root of Gina's issue with you is that you won't tell her the full story about Timmy. No Julian before you say anything you should know that your uncle has not told me anything and I don't want to know. I don't want to be in the position of having to lie to my daughter. I'm sure that you and Quentin had a good reason for acting as you did, unfathomable as it may be to the rest of us.'

Julian pondered his aunt's words. There was a lot about the situation with Dick and Annabelle that didn't make sense. Could she be right? It seemed an irrelevant question but one that he needed to know the answer to.

'Aunt Fanny, did you like Annabella?'

'Honestly Julian no, not even a little. She had a slyness about her. I was glad when Gina and she fell out. Quentin on the other hand was very fond of her.'

Julian was taken aback by this. 'Fond, I didn't think that my uncle was bothered about children one way or the other, as long as they didn't disturb his work.'

'Well Annabella showed a lot of interest in his work you see. He even let her help him with some of his experiments. I never told Gina this because once their friendship had ended there was no point. Your uncle was planning on offering Annabella a job as his assistant during the summer holidays.'

The front door slamming and the sound of Dick protesting at the weight of Gina's trunk brought their conversation to an end. Julian gave his aunt a quick hug.

'I'll remember what you said; I just can't imagine any valid reason for what my brother did,' said Julian.

Aunt Fanny was not quite finished with him though. 'Just like my daughter can't imagine any valid reason for her cousin did.'


	7. As Good as a Boy

Chapter 7 – As Good as a Boy

When Gina and Dick had arrived back at Kirrin Cottage, Anne was still resting. Unable to unpack, her own and Dick's luggage cluttered up the hallway. Julian coming out of the kitchen fell over it and stormed off to his room leaving Dick and Gina sniggering.

'Going to nip out to the Harbour Cafe for a bit,' Dick told her. 'See if there's any gossip and goings on regarding your father, or if there any strangers in town that may need investigating. Do you want to come?'

Gina shuck her head, 'no, it's ok. I want to be here when Anne wakes up, make sure she's ok.'

Dick gave her shoulder a squeeze. 'Thank god you found out what had been going on and got her out of there. I still can't believe that you did that, marching in there and taking her. You should have called me.'

'I really didn't know that there was time Dick, besides you know me, rush in and to hell with the consequences.'

'Gosh, yes. I'll always remember you defying Julian and rowing over to Kirrin Island knowing full well that there were thieves waiting for you. You were always so brave, so determined that Julian and I never got in the way of your adventure. He always admired you for that you know? We both did'

Gina did not look convinced. 'Hmmm it may have been that way at first but by the time I hit my teens, I think that to a certain extent he had lost patience with me. He disapproved of me dressing and acting like a boy. He constantly looked for ways to make me more girlish, making me stay behind with Anne while you two went looking for Spook Trains. He always pointed out that I was in fact a girl and should be helping in the kitchen.'

'You noticed that?' Dick asked.

'It would have been hard not to. Do you know what Dick? Sometimes I think that he was deliberately trying to make me cry,' she confided. 'One of the reasons why I kept on with the wanting to be a boy thing was rebellion against his overbearing ways.' One, but not the only one, she thought. 'Well he got his wish, although I don't think he enjoyed meeting the new me.'

'Dick gave a chuckle, 'Now that I would have loved to have seen. Just knowing you ran a club like that would have sent his head spinning, but the fact that he happened to call on a night that you just happened to be performing is priceless. Was he terribly upset?'

'I've never seen him so flapped; he was like a totally different person.'

Dick pondered a moment. 'Julian took his role as the responsible leader very seriously; he always did, even before we knew you. I feel quite sorry for him really. He never got to play the fool like the rest of us. He was always the one that "should know better". He was different in school, more laid back,'

'Laid back Julian? That _I_ would have liked to have seen. Even when we were children he was so controlling. I suppose that's why he thought it was quite acceptable to have Timmy put down without even asking me.' Gina could feel her face burning in indignation.

Dick dropped a quick kiss on to her forehead. 'I won't pretend to know why he didn't call you. He maintains that it would have served no purpose but I agree that it should have been your decision to make… Now are you sure you don't want to join me at the café for a sticky bun, tea and the finest Kirrin gossip?'

She laughed; Dick could always lift her mood whenever she felt in the doldrums. 'No, I have some paperwork to catch up on so I'll take the opportunity while it's quiet.'

Ooooo

Gina set herself up on the dining room table surrounded by pencils, piles of invoices and receipts, plus the huge ledger that took up the equivalent of two place settings. It had come as a surprise that she was fabulous at book keeping. Terry would procrastinate over it for days before finally grumbling off to do it. One month his accountant had called in, after listening to the man chiding her then employer for his sloppy record keeping, she had asked the accountant to show her how to do it.

She found the methodical double entry of debits and credits soothing, and took pride in a perfectly balanced book. After the first quarter, Terry's accountancy bill was considerably lower due to perfectly presented ledgers, and Gina found herself with a new role at The Paragon.

Engrossed as she was she did not hear the sound of footsteps on the stairs. She felt rather than heard a presence behind her in the doorway. She knew without turning that it was Julian. How does he do that, she wondered, fill the house up with an aura that seems to alter the very texture of the air?

'Am I disturbing you?' he asked.

'Obviously!' she bit back.

'I'll leave you alone then, but I would like at some point to speak to you about Anne.'

Gina sighed and closing the book turned to face Julian. 'You did well before, when you talked to her, she seems much happier now. What do you want to know?'

'Everything, because when I kill that animal I want to know exactly what I am killing him for.' He delivered this with a coldness that took Gina by surprise. Certainly he had always held his emotions inside himself, but calmness in the midst of rage was alien to her. When she was angry nobody was in any doubt, and if they knew what was good for them, they kept their distance. Julian had once felt the full brunt of her anger yet that had been nothing compared how she felt about Jeremy. She nodded,

'Ok, you'd better get us both a couple of large sherry's. Mother keeps a bottle in the sideboard over there.' Julian poured them both a generous measure. Gina downed hers in one and handed the empty back to him. 'Fill it again.'

'Are you sure? This stuff's awfully strong.'

'Believe me, it needs to be.' Julian sat down opposite Gina. 'My club, The Paragon that you have pegged as some den of iniquity, is in fact nothing of the kind. Full nudity is not permitted nor is private dances, or "dates" with patrons. It's a club where men go to enjoy a few drinks, get a good meal and enjoy watching some very talented young ladies dance. In many respects, it's not so dissimilar to watching a show in the West End.

The majority of our patrons are no trouble whatsoever, but as you'd expect, there is the odd one here and there. In particular there was a group of well connected young men who we'd had problems with before. Tried to get to familiar with the girls and not just in a too much to drink and getting a bit amorous kind of way.' She paused here and took another gulp of the sherry. 'They were rough. Terry threw them out of course, but the next day one of their number came to see him. He was apologetic blamed the wine etcetera etctera. Anyway he assured Terry that it would not happen again. It doesn't do to upset well connected patrons if it can be helped, so we gave them the benefit of the doubt.

We didn't see them for a long time, our club was bit too tame for them. Their tastes were much more specialised you could say.' Gina allowed Julian to register the meaning of her words, before continuing at his nod. 'One night they came in quite early. Whilst there are many clubs better suited to their requirements, none of them have an award winning French Chef in their kitchens. I expect that their plan was to go somewhere else after their meal.

I served their table myself. I didn't want any of the staff feeling compromised if any of the men tried anything. As I was walking away I heard one of them say that Thacker should be back off his honeymoon now. I hid around the corner from their table where I could hear them. They all laughed in a very crude way that I found rather sinister. They then said,' Gina took another large swig of her drink. 'Are you sure you want to hear this Julian?'

'I need to hear this, go on.'

'They said how Jeremy had promised them all "a turn on her". They wondered if she would be compliant. One of them said that after two weeks honeymoon, Jeremy would have knocked any fight she had, out of her, that he wasn't called "Wacker Thacker" for nothing.'

Julian buried his head in his hands. Gina had to fight the urge to take hold of him. Recanting the story brought it all back and she could not help but imagine the comfort that being in his arms would also give her. She stood and crossed over to the sideboard. Retrieving the sherry she brought it back to the table and refilled their glasses.

'Shall I go on?' she asked him. A stiff nod to the affirmative. 'I took Terry's car and drove around to their town house but they weren't there. The housekeeper begrudgingly told me that they weren't due back until the next afternoon. They were still at Freckleton Manor, so I drove there. The roads were clear and I must have broken every speed limit that there was. It was gone midnight by the time I got there and I'd had a bit of time to mull things over on the drive. I decided to try and break in and take Jeremy by surprise. I got lucky because there was downstairs window open. I knew my way around the house pretty well, because there had been a ball there during our debutant season. I found the master bedroom and barged straight in. Oh Julian, if you'd have seen her. He wasn't there, gone out whoring and gambling I found out later. Anne was terrified, she didn't even recognise me at first but then I hardly recognised her either. She mustn't have eaten a thing since the wedding she was so thin. Her face he hadn't touched, but the rest of her was almost one continual bruise. I was scared to touch her for fear of hurting her. I got her dressed, left a note for Jeremy to tell him I knew all about him and not to come after Anne, and got her out the way I'd come in.'

Julian looked like he was going to be sick. 'Thank you for what you did, at great personal risk to yourself. You should have called me, or Dick at least if you couldn't bring yourself to talk to me.'

'Dick said the same, but my main concern was to get her out as soon as I could.'

'Neither you or Anne need worry about Jeremy again. I will leave for London in the morning and take care of if.'

Gina cleared her throat. 'It's already taken care of Julian.'

'Meaning what? You left him a note telling him to stay away from my sister and you think that's enough?'

'Of course that was not enough!' Gina snapped back. 'Shut up and I'll tell you the rest.

'Clubland is a very close knit group of business, consequently I know some people who could be described as having questionable ethics. Some of these people even owe me a favour or two. Jeremy was taken, chained and every bruise, every wound, and every indignity that he subjected Anne to was replicated.'

'Oh my god!' whispered Julian. 'Where you there, did you… do those things?'

'No, Terry wouldn't let me go. If I had been there I would have killed him.' Gina stated simply. 'Anyway, I took a picture of Anne and went round to see Lord Thacker.'

'What did his father say,' asked Julian.

'He's nothing like his son. He was horrified when he saw what had been done to Anne. Said that he knew Jeremy was a bit on the wild side but he'd never suspected anything like that. That he had hoped a good marriage would calm him down. He has pulled some strings and arranged an annulment, settled a huge sum of money on Anne, which she refuses to touch, and I have in an account for her. Best thing is that he has shipped Jeremy off to one of his business concerns in the commonwealth and promised me that he'll never be brought back to England again. 'Gina stood and swayed slightly under the influence of the sherry. 'Well that's about it Julian. I suppose that you're going to tell me what a terribly unladylike thing it is that I've done and I should have stayed at home with my needlework?'

'No I'm going to thank you with my last breath you infuriating girl!' With that he swept an unsteady, surprised Gina in to his arms and held her there.

Gina could imagine her sober horrified self currently locked in a cage, banging furiously on the bars. The un-caged Gina nestled into Julian a little more.

'Hmmm this feels nice, and you do smell heavenly Julian.'

With a startled protest from Gina, Julian held her away from him and looked in to her eyes. 'You're drunk,' he admonished.

'Well of course I am silly; you can't drink half a bottle of sherry in an afternoon and be anything other.' Gina hiccupped

'You need to lie down my girl.' Julian said. 'Come on I'll help you upstairs. Oh blast!' he exclaimed tripping over the luggage again. Gina giggled. 'Shush, you'll wake Anne.' He opened the door to the girls' room and saw Gina to her bed. 'Get some rest.' He ordered.

The sensible part of Gina that remained tutted at her, telling her that drinking in the vicinity of Julian was obviously not a good thing. Hmmm, she would worry about that later. Her eyes drooped and she felt her mouth move, a meaningless babble of words, her ears told her. What had she just said, and had he said something back to her? She didn't know, she was already asleep.

ooooo

'Am I really?'

'What?' he asked almost out of the door. The reply was so mumbled that he immediately wondered if he'd heard it at all.

'Your girl?'

_Since a few people have read this now I suppose I'd better do one of those author's note things where I tell you what you already know – that I don't own the Famous Five and that I'm not making any money out of this._

_ You'll have figured out by now that in my warped interpretation, Julian and George had a bit of a thing for each other. Now they are all grown up I am having a little play with that. Please bare in mind though, that whilst cousins hooking up may have a certain ick factor for some people. In Britain where I am, and where the books are set, it is perfectly legal to marry your cousin. If they ever get there, there is nothing incestuous about it._


	8. And Then Came Timmy

_Hi – I know that I have not updated this story for a while but unfortunately my life affords me very little spare time in which to write purely for pleasure. _

_I am studying creative writing with the Open University at the moment. I started this before the course started so hopefully my writing will improve as the story develops._

_From a writing point of view, this kind of story is way out of my comfort zone. I tend to favour life writing and short stories that lean towards observational. Romance is a genre that I would love to improve in but I am aware that I need a great deal of practice._

_Story wise, just a couple of things as things start to progress. Enid Blyton employed a floating timeline in the Famous Five books, meaning that like the Simpsons, time passes but characters do not age at the same rate. On Enid Blyton dot net, someone has produced a list of the four children's ages in each book. Blyton tells us that they were 10, 11 and 12 in book one and that in Five Fall Into Adventure, Julian is 16. Where possible I will use these ages when referring to them and their adventures during the Blyton years. However, I will on occasion allow my timeline to float a little too. I will not draw upon any adventures or incidents in the Famous Five books by other authors._

_And finally the usual disclaimers apply. I am not Enid Blyton not least because she died in 1968. I don't make any money from this. I am just a massive fan for whom the Famous 5 had huge influence during my childhood and I enjoy seeing them grow up._

Chapter 8 – And then came Timmy

When Gina woke, Anne's bed was empty and neatly made. Apart from a dry

throat, she felt well considering the amount of sherry she had drunk. She was always working during the times that civilised people tended to drink, so she rarely had the opportunity to drink herself. Even a small amount of alcohol went straight to her head. She groaned – trust me to drink too much around Julian. Luckily she could not recall having done anything embarrassing. A glass of water had been placed on her bed side table and she drank it with a begrudged gratitude. Julian must have put it there.

Having tidied her hair she headed downstairs. Peering around the sitting room door, she took a moment to imagine that they were a normal family, rather than one filled with secrets and feuds. Dick sat reading the local newspaper, Anne sat conversing with Julian. She looked happier than Gina had seen her in a long time. Julian looked… she nibbled her bottom lip; there really was no other way to describe him other than amazing. He had showered and changed since she had last seen him. His hair was still slightly damp and he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt that did little to dispel her earlier impression of a well muscled physique.

She seemed to be spending an increasing amount of time reminding herself that she hated Julian. She had never allowed herself to think logically about the situation with Timmy, but having to spend time with Julian was forcing her to do so. Her musings were leaving behind some uncomfortable realisations. Whilst she was still bristling at his high handed attitude, she had to concede that she too had taken somewhat of a liberty when, and still unbeknownst to him, she had interfered in Julian's personal life. That had been for his own good though hadn't it? She rationalised. Just like he believed that he was acting in _your_ best interests, the pro-Julian voice in her head slyly pointed out.

Gina could no longer deny that he had done the right thing by Timmy. She would not have wanted her beloved dog to have suffered unnecessarily by waiting for her to get home. She just hated that she had not been there for him at the end. Realising the truth of this was forcing her to re-examine the root of her resentment. Timmy's death may have provided the outlet for it, but, she admitted to herself, she had been seething ever since Julian had convinced her father that Gina aught be a Debutant with Anne.

The indignity of being paraded around a ball room like a heifer at an auction was bad enough, but that Julian had never bothered to attend any of the balls himself had left her fuming.

Julian had just finished his degree and had already been headhunted by the Ministry of Defence. Everyone expected him to achieve great things with his life. Gina had reluctantly agreed to a Debutant Season because her stupid teenage mind had come up with a preposterous notion. That Julian wanted _her_ to acquire the finer qualities that he desired, and considered necessary in the woman that he wanted for his wife.

Gina gritted her teeth at her stupidity at having misunderstood Julian so thoroughly. As if he ever saw me as anything other than his childish cousin, she huffed to herself. Retreating from the doorway before any of her cousins noticed her; she quietly slipped out of the front door. Trying to calm her turbulent thoughts, she sank to her knees by the carving of Timmy's face in the Ash stump. Her fingers traced its grains and grooves enjoying the physical sensation against her finger tips. The bark was warm to touch and triggered the memory of her hand held against Julian's chest.

Upper class men had little need for manual labour, and so tended to be leaner than the lower classes for whom physical exercise was an incidental part of daily life. Julian has no business being so muscular, she thought. Her face warmed as the memory played out of his hand, holding hers against his rock hard chest.

Gina had always enjoyed a certain amount of physical contact with Julian. When they were children they had linked arms as they walked, and when they swam they had splashed and ducked each other. As a child she would get a fluttery feeling in her tummy that made her feel warm and happy. She could never stay in a bad mood for very long when she was in Julian's company.

When she was about fourteen he began withdrawing from her. Up until then he had treated her similarly to how he treated Dick. Then suddenly he didn't, and to all outwards appearances, he began treating her more like he did Anne. No that wasn't right either, her teenage self had fretted. He'd still had an easy familiarity with his sister that he withheld from her. For a while, Gina felt rejected and angry by this but in true 'good old George' style, refused to show it – like a girl would have done. On the one hand Julian seemed determined to cast her in to a female role and yet he showed no interest in getting to know the girl that, at his direction, she was allowing herself to mature in to. Anger gave way to confusion and a belief that she must have done something wrong, until one summer's day something happened that made her think about Julian differently.

She was eighteen when they had spent that really hot summer holiday at Finniston Farm. She and Anne had caught the bus to meet the boys after their respective schools, and in Julian's case, university had broken up. She had been so excited to see Dick and Julian that, restraint forgotten, she had thrown herself in to Julian's arms. Julian had probably been taken by surprise, and having little alternative other than to push her away in what have been an obvious rebuttal, so he held her closer and tighter than he had in years.

The fluttery feeling had returned with force. Now, it wasn't just confined to her tummy. It radiated out reaching her knees making them feel wobbly, and her heart, which started pounding as is she were in the midst of one of their thrilling adventures. The feeling surged deep between her legs making her hyper aware that the seam of last summer's shorts sat flush between the folds of her womanhood. Gina shifted her stance slightly and the seam slid across that part of her that could never see her mistaken for a boy. The action sent a sharp shot of desire coursing through her, and she had to make a concerted effort to stop herself from rubbing herself against something, against Julian!

To force back the moan threatening to escape, Gina inhaled deeply and in doing so breathed down a lungful of Julian. Heat! The sharp tang of some unknown aftershave, soap and something that was just Julian, all combined to make his unique scent. It undulated through her head, resting on and claiming every memory she had of him. Oh god, how could there ever have been a time when this feeling had not dominated her thoughts of him. Never again would she be able to think of Julian, or recall something that they had done or said to each other, without remembering this feeling of being in his arms.

She clung to him, aware that their time was almost over. In just a couple more seconds, propriety would demand she let him go. He had filled out since their last holiday together. His body seemed harder, and for the first time she was grateful for the softness of her female body. It allowed her to mould herself to him. If I raise my head slightly, she thought, I could lick his neck, feel his stubble against my tongue. Gina didn't know how she had not moaned then. Swallowing hard, she had reluctantly loosened her hold on Julian and stepping back, glanced shyly up. Did he know what had just happened to her? She half expected him to be horrified, disgusted, or angry even, but she noticed that if anything he looked even more shaken as she felt.

Before she could give the matter any thought, she was swept into a rib crushing hug by Dick. Dick held her just as close as Julian had and yet with him there was nothing other than the pleasant sensation of being held.

The encounter nagged at the back of Gina's mind all day whilst between her legs, a dull heat had simmered. With considerable determination, she kept herself immersed in their holiday activities because the moment she relaxed, her mind insisted on replaying those few seconds in Julian's arms. At these times, or if she looked at Julian for a little too long, or as had happened when her eyes had met his, the throb would surge through her with such force that it left her light headed. Thank god for the heat she thought, feeling her face flushed with desire and embarrassment. At least I have an excuse for looking like a beetroot.

At last, night time came and Gina finally had some privacy in the pitch black. Reaching her fingers down under the waistband of her knickers, she discovered the reason for the slippy sensation that she had been feeling all day. Her underwear was soaking. She was soaking! Gina slide her finger down, down over the little bud, that she had known was there, before but never before realised the purpose of. It was almost too sensitive against her dry finger tip and she had to bite down hard on her lip to keep silent. Continuing down, following the trail of her juices to their source, she slid a finger inside. Gina knew the function of this place. This was where one day her husband would insert his penis. Gina had always considered the idea quite vile, why would anyone wish to do such a thing? But now as her middle finger pushed up in to her wet tight heat, whilst her thumb continued to graze the hood of the oh so sensitive little bundle of nerves, she understood. She thought of Julian. Would he like to touch a girl there? Would he like to press his manhood inside her? Would he move, sliding himself up and down, in and out? Would he ever consider doing that with her?

Gina's hand quickened, her sex knew what it wanted, and bypassing her brain, it instructed her fingers directly. No longer was she disgusted by the thought, certainly not if it were Julian above her, making her come apart with his thrusting friction.

The sensations intensified and Gina had to bite down into her pillow to stop her cries from being heard. She came suddenly, having not sufficient knowledge of her body to prolong it. The feeling of pure ecstasy swept through her and she squeezed the muscles of her legs and toes so tightly as she rode it, that when it was over she could not immediately remember how to relax them.

The intense desire of earlier was gone now but was immediately replaced by a sense of emptiness. She had obtained a certain gratification, but instinctively knew that she would not achieve complete satisfaction by her own hand.

Gina had no experience of boys. She had no idea what to look for to determine whether a boy liked a girl. Did Julian like her? She did think that perhaps he had been likewise affected by their embrace. If he had started to notice her, as a girl of the non sister variety, it would certainly explain his change in behaviour. Having experienced it for herself, Gina knew that _she_ would not have been able to have maintained any sense of normality if she were to allow unnecessary physical contact with Julian to occur. My god she had no idea how she could even look him in the eye after what she had just done to the fantasy of him.

Gina tried to settle down to sleep. Julian was a boy, no a man of moral fibre. If he did have non-platonic feelings for her then surely when they were of an age, he would do the right thing by them both. He would declare his feelings and they would marry. She just needed to be patient. It would be rather perfect actually, she mused. Whilst the emerging middle classes raised objections to cousins marrying, the Kirrins were an old upper class family. Like the aristocracy, who considered cousins marrying the ideal way to keep estates and titles intact, their family would approve the match.

With this firmly in mind, Gina had subsequently allowed herself to be led by Julian. Of course there were still moments of rebellion. She was after all, still quite the tom boy, and still somewhat stubborn. And then came 'The Season' – the dresses, the balls, the tedium, during which Julian had never once accompanied them, never once held her in is arms to dance, never told her that he was proud of her and that he wanted her for himself. And then came Timmy…


End file.
